Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, June 5, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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escarpment
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs of DegreeAdverbs of degree are used to indicate the intensity, degree, or extent of the verb, adjective, or adverb they are modifying. What are grading adverbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 CellophaneCellophane is a thin, transparent sheet or tube of regenerated cellulose, which is the chief constituent of the cell walls of plants. It is used in packaging, as a membrane for dialysis, and can be moisture-proofed. Invented in 1908, cellophane is made by dissolving cellulose alkali, aging it, then regenerating it by forcing it through a slit into a dilute acid solution where it precipitates. Cellophane sales have dwindled because of the presence of what pollutant in its production process? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Teton Dam Failure (1976)On June 3, 1976, engineers noticed two small leaks in the earthen Teton Dam, built on Idaho's Teton River. Two days later, the newly created reservoir was filled for the first time, holding a large amount of runoff. Water began seeping out, and the major leak that followed caused the dam—which had been constructed on permeable and fissured rock—to collapse. The reservoir drained in less than six hours, flooding nearby towns and farmland. How many deaths are attributed to the Teton Dam failure? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ruth Fulton Benedict (1887)Benedict was an American anthropologist whose theories have had a profound influence on cultural anthropology. Her landmark text Patterns of Culture was published in 1934, at a time when her field was dominated by men. In it, she promotes cultural relativism—the assessment of cultural practices within their own cultural context. From a young age, she was fascinated with death and was drawn to studying how other cultures treat death. Whose "cult of grief" did Benedict despise? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Man is the unnatural animal, the rebel child of nature, and more and more does he turn himself against the harsh and fitful hand that reared him.H.G. Wells (1866-1946) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be kept in the dark (about something)— To be kept uninformed (about something); to be excluded from full knowledge or disclosure (of something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Seychelles Liberation Day (2021)Less than a year after gaining independence, a coup overthrew the government in Seychelles. Two major political parties had developed, the Seychelles Democratic Party (SDP) and the Seychelles People's United Party (SPUP). James Mancham, the leader of the SDP party, which won the majority vote, became president, and France Albert René became prime minister. René's supporters led the overthrow and ousted Mancham on June 5, 1977, an event commemorated as a public holiday on Liberation Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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